New multi-chapter fic which I hope you'll enjoy. This one starts off a couple of days after the end of series 9 with of course, as always, a heavy emphasis on Harry and Ruth. There'll be slight spoilers for series 10 i.e. the mentioning of new character names and the departure of one of the team. I can't promise I'll update very regularly because I'm also still working on the last couple of chapters of You Belong To Me, and I've got a tonne of essays and assignments to finish before the end of the semester.
Happy reading!
The team's heads shot up simultaneously as a group of people, 5 to be exact, entered the Grid through the pods. One of the men stepped forward and, without bothering with any niceties, addressed them all. "Which of you is the most senior member of the team?" he asked.
Ruth stood up. "I suppose that would be me," she said, unsure of what was happening.
"Good," the man said. "Could you tell me where I can find Sir Harry Pearce?"
"That depends," Ruth answered.
"What do you mean, 'it depends'?" the man asked. He sounded annoyed.
"Meaning that you barge in here, demand to know where Harry is, without bothering to tell us who you are or why exactly you are looking for him." She jutted out her chin and looked at him defiantly, not the slightest bit intimidated by the fact that he was towering over her.
The man, clearly surprised by her attitude, sighed in annoyance and pulled a badge from his pocket. "Internal Affairs," he said. "We are here with regards to the impending inquiry of your Section Head. We've got the DG's permission to take him in for a preliminary round of questioning."
Ruth sighed. She was afraid something like this was going to happen someday soon. The previous day Harry had briefly informed the team about an inquiry which was inevitably looming over him, though he had no idea when it would start, nor did he know what exactly was going to happen to him. Ruth and Harry hadn't spoken privately since that fateful day last week, when Ruth had thought that Harry was going off to a certain death when he had agreed to meet Lucas alone. And now she wasn't quite so sure if they'd ever get the chance of a proper conversation ever again. She knew that, during the inquiry, none of the team would be allowed any form of contact with Harry. And because nobody had the faintest idea of how all of this would end, she wasn't sure if she would ever be allowed proper contact with him again.
"He's in his office," she finally said, knowing full well that stalling the men any further was no use.
The man nodded, his only form of acknowledgement to her cooperation. They all turned round and strode in the direction of Harry's office. The blinds were closed, though Ruth was sure he knew what was coming.
The team held their respective breaths as the men entered the office, without bothering to knock first. It wasn't long before the office door reopened and the men stepped out again, only this time Harry was with them.
As they came closer to where the team were standing, Ruth and Harry's gazes locked temporarily.
"What's going on?" her eyes seemed to silently ask.
He stared at her, his eyes clearly filled with love and compassion. "Just keep calm and you'll be fine," was the message they sent out.
Another one of the men stepped forward to address the remaining members of the core team, which just consisted of Ruth, Dimitri, and Tariq for the moment. "From this moment, your Section Head has been suspended, pending a full inquiry. You are by no means allowed to contact him for as long as the inquiry is ongoing. And if anyone does overstep the no contact rule there will be serious consequences, so be warned."
All three nodded but didn't say anything. They'd had to digest so much in the past couple of days, and they weren't quite sure how they were going to cope with all of this.
Without saying anything further, the men turned around and made for the pods, taking Harry with them, not even allowing him to say goodbye properly. All of a sudden it dawned on Ruth that she might not get to see Harry for a very long time, so if she wanted to do or say something she would have to do it right now.
She quickly stepped forwards until she was standing right in front of Harry. And all of a sudden she had no idea of what to say. Words escaped her, both because of the many people that were present, and because she wasn't quite sure what to say to someone who had put his career and life on the line just to save her. So instead she reached for his hand and grabbed it, squeezing it reassuringly.
"Will you be alright?" she asked, ignoring the infuriating stares of the IA men.
"Of course," he replied. "I'm always alright, aren't I?" He smiled at her reassuringly, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"T-take care then. And don't drink too much," was all she managed to say.
"I'll try not to," he said.
At this moment the IA men decided that they'd seen quite enough sentimentality, so they pushed Ruth purposefully aside and guided Harry towards the pods.
Ruth took a step back as she watched Harry go with them, blinking hard to stop the tears from falling. She felt truly powerless as she saw the man she loved, the man who had risked his life for her, being whisked away, knowing that it would almost certainly lead to his demise.
As the pods closed Tariq said down heavily in his chair and sighed, resting his forehead against his hands.
Dimitri still hadn't moved from the desk he'd been leaning against. "What are we going to do now?" he finally asked.
Ruth stood up a little straighter as she seemed to have regained some of her fighting spirit. "I'm going to see the Home Secretary," she said.
"Can you actually do that just like that?" Dimitri asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know and frankly I don't care. Just put a call through to his assistant to tell her I'm on my way over there right now," she said as she grabbed her coat off the back of her chair.
Both Dimitri and Tariq were stunned by her attitude. They were seeing a whole new side to Ruth which they didn't know existed until now.
Ruth exited through the pods without saying another word, and Dimitri quickly picked up his phone. "If her attitude remains like that the HS won't know what hit him by the time she's finished with him," he joked as he dialled the number.
Please review if you'd like to read more! xx
